Ayumi Hirano-Iwata

I am a leading expert in the reconstruction of an artificial cell membrane as a novel system for screening side effects of drugs on the heart. This system can assess the potential risks of drugs that unintentionally interfere with the function of membrane proteins in the heart muscle.

Areas of expertise: bioelectronics, nanobiotechnology, biosensor

Research Interests

Biodevices based on nano- and micro-structures
Reconstruction of biological functions on solid substrates
Electronic and ionic devices based on 2D biological materials

Awards

Award for young scientists in analytical chemistry (2005)
Award for Tohoku Researchers in Analytical chemistry (2014)
RIEC Award for Tohoku University Researchers (2015)
Minoru Ishida Award (2015)
13th JSAP (The Japan Society of Applied Physics) Fellow Award (2019)

Other links

Awards: Prof. Hirano-Iwata selected as Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) Fellow
Research Highlights: Neuroscience: Neuronal networks in dishes
In the Spotlight: Transcending research boundaries
Press Releases: Neuroengineering to mimic complex brain functions in vitro
Press Releases: A tapering silicon hole could lead to better drug testing

Selected publications

Free-Standing Lipid Bilayers in Silicon Chips－Membrane Stabilization Based on Microfabricated Apertures with a Nanometer-Scale Smoothness. Langmuir, 26, 1949–1952 (2010). HIRANO-IWATA Ayumi, Kouji Aoto, Azusa Oshima, Tasuku Taira, Ryo-taro Yamaguchi, Yasuo Kimura, and Michio Niwano.
Reconstitution of Human Ether-a-go-go-Related Gene Channels in Microfabricated Silicon Chips. Anal. Chem., 85, 4363-4369 (2013). Azusa Oshima, HIRANO-IWATA Ayumi, Hideki Mozumi, Yutaka Ishinari, Yasuo Kimura, and Michio Niwano.
Reconstitution of Human Ion Channels into Solvent-Free Lipid Bilayers Enhanced by Centrifugal Forces. Biophys. J. 110, 2207-2215 (2016). HIRANO-IWATA Ayumi, Yutaka Ishinari, Miyu Yoshida, Shun Araki, Daisuke Tadaki, Ryusuke Miyata, Kenichi Ishibashi, Hideaki Yamamoto, Yasuo Kimura, and Michio Niwano.
Mechanically stable solvent-free lipid bilayers in nano- and micro-tapered apertures for reconstitution of cell-free synthesized hERG channels. Sci. Rep., 7, 17736 (2017). Daisuke Tadaki, Daichi Yamaura, Shun Araki, Miyu Yoshida, Kohei Arata, Takeshi Ohori, Ken-ichi Ishibashi, Miki Kato, Teng Ma, Ryusuke Miyata, Yuzuru Tozawa, Hideaki Yamamoto, Michio Niwano, and HIRANO-IWATA Ayumi.
Impact of modular organization on dynamical richness in cortical networks. Sci. Adv., 4, eaau4914 (2018). Hideaki Yamamoto, Satoshi Moriya, Katsuya Ide, Takeshi Hayakawa, Hisanao Akima, Shigeo Sato, Shigeru Kubota, Takashi Tanii, Michio Niwano, Sara Teller, Jordi Soriano, HIRANO-IWATA Ayumi.